Material and device properties modification by electrochemical charge injection in the absence of contacting electrolyte for either local spatial or final states

Abstract

In some embodiments, the present invention is directed to processes for the combination of injecting charge in a material electrochemically via non-faradaic (double-layer) charging, and retaining this charge and associated desirable properties changes when the electrolyte is removed. The present invention is also directed to compositions and applications using material property changes that are induced electrochemically by double-layer charging and retained during subsequent electrolyte removal. In some embodiments, the present invention provides reversible processes for electrochemically injecting charge into material that is not in direct contact with an electrolyte. Additionally, in some embodiments, the present invention is directed to devices and other material applications that use properties changes resulting from reversible electrochemical charge injection in the absence of an electrolyte.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a 371 US National Phase of PCT / US2005 / 007084 filed on 4 Mar. 2005, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 550,289 filed on 5 Mar. 2004.[0002] This invention was made with partial Government support under Contract No. MDA972-02-C-0044 awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Government has certain rights in this invention.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] This invention relates to tuning the electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of materials and devices by non-faradaic electrochemical charge injection, wherein such tuned properties are developed either in the presence or absence of contacting electrolyte, and necessarily maintained in the absence of directly contacting electrolyte. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] It is well known that charge injection can change the magnetic, electronic and optical properties of materials. Prior-art methods for changing these mater...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] More specifically, in some embodiments, the present invention provides for processes whose overall effect is to provide, retain and employ charge injection to substantially change the properties of a material A, material A being either a largely electrolyte-free porous material region, or a particle, the process comprising the steps of: (a) immersing material A into an electrolyte E; (b) providing an ion conducting and substantially electronically insulating continuous ...

Problems solved by technology

Prior-art methods for changing these material properties by charge injection either (1) involve electrostatic gate-based charge injection across a dielectric (so charge injection is limited by dielectric breakdown), (2) use an electrolyte that contacts the transformed material (thereby limiting device applicability), or (3) use dopant intercalation (thereby limiting applicable materials and providing problematic structural changes).

This charge injection is that of an ordinary dielectric capacitor, so the amount of charge injection that can be achieved is limited by the breakdown strength of the dielectric.

While enormously useful for submicroscopic electronic devices, this dielectric-based charge injection is unsuitable for macroscopic charge injection in materials having macroscopic external dimensions. X. Xi et al.

(Applied Physics Letters 62, 630 (1993)) demonstrated that Tc can be changed by up to 10 K. However, the dielectric-based method of Tc switching used by Xi et al. and by J. Mannhart et al. is not applicable for a macroscopically thick superconducting material.

(Diamond and Related Materials 10, 1705-1708 (2001)) have used under-gate dielectric-based charge injection to modulate electron emission for field emission displays, but find disadvantage in this application as a result of field-induced electron beam spreading and restrictions on the anode voltage.

However, unless the material is a metal or metal oxide catalyst, the electrolyte is a ceramic held at high temperatures (P. E. Tsiakaris, et al., Solid State Ionics 152-153, 721-726 (2002)) prior-art technologies teach that this charge injection can only be accomplished by developing and maintaining contact of the electrolyte with regions of the material where charge injection is desired, which for macroscopic nanoporous materials includes internal surfaces.

However, the maintained contact between the electrode (including both internal and external surfaces) and the electrolyte limits applicability of prior-art methods of non-faradaic electrochemical charge injection.

For example, the surrounding electrolyte for the above described liquid-ion-gated FETs limits their applicability for gas state sensing—since a sensed gas must first dissolve in the electrolyte before it can be detected, which decreases both device response rate and sensitivity and limits detection capabilities to gases that can significantly dissolve in the electrolyte.

Since the electrolyte provides mechanisms for self-discharge, long term energy storage in such a supercapacitor is not possible.

Also, the possibility of charging non-faradaic supercapacitors, removing the electrolyte, and then storing energy in the dry-state supercapacitors has heretofore not been conceived.

This method is limited to the types of materials that can incorporate dopant by a reversible process, preferably at room temperature.

Similarly, this method of charge injection is not useable for non-porous materials having three-dimensional covalent bonding.

Also, substantial dopant intercalation fundamentally changes the structure of the material and can introduce gross structural defects.

As a consequence, de-doping does not completely return the material to the original state.

For such devices, dramatic structural changes are typically associated with dopant intercalation, and these charges are not fully reversed on de-intercalation—which limits cycle life.

The required dopant insertion and de-insertion processes (called intercalation and de-intercalation) result in slow device response, short cycle life, hysteresis (leading to low energy conversion efficiencies), and a device response that depends on both rate and device history.

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